Lincoln County, South Dakota: Industrial Catholic Metro county. In 2024, voted R+26%. Republican peak: R+68 in 1904.
Key facts
- 2024 presidential margin
- R+26MIT Election Lab
- Political typology
- Industrial Catholic MetroAkashic typology
- Population
- 70,6382024 5-year
- Median household income
- $99,1662024 5-year
- White (non-Hispanic)
- 89.5%2024 5-year
- Black
- 2.4%2024 5-year
- Hispanic / Latino
- 3.2%2024 5-year
- Peak Democratic margin
- D+29 in 1912MIT Election Lab
- Peak Republican margin
- R+68 in 1904MIT Election Lab
- Most similar
- Meade County, SD · similarity 0.98
2024 results by precinct
2024 precinct map of Lincoln CountyPrecinct-level 2024 presidential results for Lincoln County, with each precinct boundary colored by Democratic-vs-Republican margin.
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Margin—
Turnout—
Harris +50Trump +50
Real precinct boundaries. Hover for vote totals.
presidential history
Presidential margin, 1876–2024
Democratic minus Republican, by election
| Year | Margin (D minus R) |
|---|---|
| 1876 | No data |
| 1880 | No data |
| 1884 | No data |
| 1888 | No data |
| 1892 | −45.4% |
| 1896 | −4.2% |
| 1900 | −21.4% |
| 1904 | −68.2% |
| 1908 | −43.7% |
| 1912 | +28.5% |
| 1916 | +24.8% |
| 1920 | −61.9% |
| 1924 | −37.4% |
| 1928 | −43.3% |
| 1932 | +20.5% |
| 1936 | −6.3% |
| 1940 | −33.2% |
| 1944 | −34.0% |
| 1948 | −20.3% |
| 1952 | −56.7% |
| 1956 | −24.5% |
| 1960 | −28.3% |
| 1964 | +1.7% |
| 1968 | −23.9% |
| 1972 | −10.0% |
| 1976 | −2.4% |
| 1980 | −23.7% |
| 1984 | −20.5% |
| 1988 | −5.1% |
| 1992 | −5.3% |
| 1996 | −6.5% |
| 2000 | +25.6% |
| 2004 | −32.0% |
| 2008 | −15.2% |
| 2012 | −25.6% |
| 2016 | −29.4% |
| 2020 | −23.6% |
| 2024 | −26.5% |
DemocraticRepublican
38 presidential elections
| Year | Won | Margin | Democratic | Republican | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| R | 12,981 | 22,621 | 36,393 | ||
| R | 11,981 | 19,617 | 32,396 | ||
| R | 8,076 | 15,499 | 25,231 | ||
| R | 7,982 | 13,611 | 21,952 | ||
| R | 8,642 | 11,803 | 20,767 | ||
| R | 5,703 | 11,161 | 17,066 | ||
| D | 6,546 | 3,844 | 10,556 | ||
| R | 3,643 | 4,201 | 8,587 | ||
| R | 2,943 | 3,365 | 7,923 | ||
| R | 3,190 | 3,537 | 6,757 | ||
| R | 2,626 | 3,988 | 6,636 | ||
| R | 2,261 | 3,848 | 6,698 | ||
| R | 2,957 | 3,105 | 6,084 | ||
| R | 2,617 | 3,201 | 5,828 | ||
| R | 1,961 | 3,259 | 5,442 | ||
| D | 2,836 | 2,740 | 5,576 | ||
| R | 1,985 | 3,553 | 5,538 | ||
| R | 2,141 | 3,529 | 5,670 | ||
| R | 1,212 | 4,387 | 5,599 | ||
| R | 1,826 | 2,771 | 4,656 | ||
| R | 1,625 | 3,298 | 4,923 | ||
| R | 2,048 | 4,081 | 6,129 | ||
| R | 2,541 | 2,918 | 6,026 | ||
| D | 3,300 | 2,160 | 5,560 | ||
| R | 1,364 | 3,463 | 4,850 | ||
| O | 265 | 1,825 | 4,166 | ||
| R | 441 | 2,790 | 3,794 | ||
| D | 1,591 | 936 | 2,639 | ||
| O | 719 | 0 | 2,521 | ||
| R | 699 | 1,887 | 2,719 | ||
| R | 378 | 2,471 | 3,070 | ||
| R | 1,226 | 1,908 | 3,182 | ||
| R | 1,393 | 1,516 | 2,923 | ||
| R | 206 | 1,130 | 2,035 | ||
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Demographics
2024 ACS
Race, ethnicity, and ancestry
Click any group to see the ancestries typically reported within it.
German
35.8%
Irish
9.2%
English
7.1%
American
5.1%
Polish
1.6%
Italian
1.5%
French
1.4%
African American
1.9%
Multiple ancestry combinations reported; no single grouping above 1%.
American Indian, Alaska Native, Native Hawaiian, and Pacific Islander combined.
Source · American Community Survey 5-year estimates, 2024 release. Hispanic/Latino is an ethnicity that overlaps the race categories, so these shares can total more than 100%. Ancestry is a self-reported, multiple-response item; ancestry percentages do not sum to the parent race percentage.
2024 ACS
Age distribution by sex
Median age: 35.9 in this county, 39.1 nationally
Male
Age
Female
85+
75–84
65–74
55–64
45–54
35–44
25–34
18–24
5–17
<5
Source · American Community Survey 5-year estimates, 2024 release.
2024 ACS
Median household income
Inflation-adjusted dollars
$99,166
Lincoln County ranks in the top 5% of US counties.
Lincoln County$99,166
South Dakota$75,081
United States$80,734
Lincoln County ranks in the top 5% of US counties by median household income.
Source · American Community Survey 5-year estimates, 2024 release.
2024 ACS
Poverty rate
All persons below federal poverty line
5.6%
Child poverty is below the national average.
Children under 186.9%
Working age (18–64)5.1%
Seniors (65+)5.3%
Source · American Community Survey 5-year estimates, 2024 release.
2024 ACS
Language at home
Population aged 5 and older
94.2%
speak English only
Other Indo-European3.0%
Spanish1.7%
Asian & Pacific Islander0.6%
Other languages0.5%
Source · ACS 5-year estimates, 2024.
2020 religion census
Religious adherents
Adherents per capita by tradition
Source · 2020 US Religion Census. Remaining 74.1% of residents not counted as adherents by any reporting body.
Lincoln County has been one of South Dakota's fastest-expanding counties by population, driven by Sioux Falls metro spillover. Despite that growth, its presidential margins have held firmly in the mid-to-high double digits for Republicans across successive cycles.
Its margins are typically close. The Democratic margin reached twenty-nine points in 1912; the Republican margin reached sixty-eight points in 1904. Between 2020 and 2024 the county moved three points toward the Republican candidate; the 2024 margin was twenty-six points.
Its demographics sit near national norms: a 90% non-Hispanic-white share, a median household income of $99,166, and a 6% poverty rate. The county's voting pattern over the last decade is most similar to that of Meade County and Custer County.
Most similar counties
Compare two places, side by side
Twelve curated comparisons line up election history, demographics, and the divergence story for two places at a glance. Browse all comparisons →
Cite this page
All citations released under CC BY 4.0. Attribution: Akashic Intelligence.
Lincoln County, South Dakota. Akashic. https://akashic.app/county/46083/. Accessed May 20, 2026. License: CC BY 4.0.
License: CC BY 4.0
More in South Dakota
More industrial catholic metro counties
Frequently asked questions
How did Lincoln County, South Dakota vote in 2024?
In 2024, Lincoln County, South Dakota voted Republican by 26.5 points (R+26), carried by the Republican candidate. Out of 36,393 votes cast, 12,981 went Democratic and 22,621 went Republican.
What is Lincoln County, South Dakota's political typology?
Akashic places Lincoln County, South Dakota in the "Industrial Catholic Metro" typology — Mid-size industrial metros with Catholic ethnic roots — among the most competitive, swing-prone ground in the country. The typology is a data-driven cluster built from vote share, vote swing, race and ethnicity, income, language spoken at home, religion, and ancestry. Across 38 elections in the dataset, the county has voted Democratic 4 times, Republican 28 times, and other 2 times.
When did Lincoln County, South Dakota last vote Democratic?
The most recent presidential election in which Lincoln County, South Dakota voted Democratic was 2000.
How many people live in Lincoln County, South Dakota?
Lincoln County, South Dakota has a population of 70,638 according to the 2024 American Community Survey 5-year estimates from the US Census Bureau.
What is the median household income in Lincoln County, South Dakota?
Median household income in Lincoln County, South Dakota is $99,166 — above the national median of $80,734. The South Dakota state median is $75,081.
What is the political history of Lincoln County, South Dakota?
Akashic tracks 38 presidential elections in Lincoln County, South Dakota from 1876 to 2024. Of those, 4 went Democratic and 28 went Republican. The county's typology — "Industrial Catholic Metro" — captures where that record, its demographics, and its recent swing place it among American communities.